The Carole Christmas
by Takuhayo
Summary: A Christmas Carol AU. Blaine is in charge with putting the Hummel Tires & Lube building up for sale. Kurt's dad is too ill to deal with the paperwork and Kurt is sent to help Blaine out. After Kurt leaves Christmas Eve afternoon, Blaine is visited by three ghosts of Christmas. Will Blaine see the light and change his ways or will it be too late?
1. Working on the Eve

Let's see how this turns out.

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol AU. Based primarily off the book (and not Mickey's Christmas Carol like I originally wanted!)

I'm sure this has been done before (and probably better) but I thought because of the season it'd be fun. Probably be finished by Christmas Eve. (Here's hoping)

Very short chapters of 1000-2000 words. Edited by me, mistakes abound! There'll be about 10-12 chapters.

* * *

It was a cold, miserable day in Ohio. The hourly weather report on the radio had predicted that there would be snow falling by late afternoon. Blaine Anderson however, thought little of such things. It wasn't like you could change nature. It's just the way things were. You made a life and did the best you could with it with what resources you had.

Of course, that was his line of thinking as taught repeatedly by his father John Anderson. The Anderson family was well known in the tri-county area as being wealthy property owners. One such place was Lima, Ohio where Blaine had been put in charge of a couple a buildings. Most were empty because of the recession and had been snapped up quick during the foreclosure auctions around the county. Apparently the head of the Anderson family had a business plan of some kind where they would make money on top of the already large fortune that had been growing since the family settled in the area.

Millionaires, that's what the Andersons were. It was nice to never worry about money or shelter or want for anything.

But they still had to work or at least Blaine did. He didn't like it unless he worked alone. However he was stuck in this cold, miserable little town going through the paper work for the twenty-fourth day of December with the business owner. Pardon him, the business owner's son, Kirk, Kieran?

"It's Kurt." The soft voice said interrupting Blaine's reading. "It's Christmas Eve, I want to get home before it starts raining and then snowing."

The two of them were in the small car shop, closed to customers for the day as per the custom. The office was nippy and Kurt could see his breath in front of him for all it's worth. It wasn't how he anticipated the last two months of the year but times were too difficult once his father had his heart attack.

They couldn't afford to keep the building and the business so one had to go. Hospital bills needed to be paid, the medication that Burt Hummel had to take wasn't covered by the insurance and like many Americans, he couldn't afford it. His health suffered and as a single parent, he had to rely on the help of neighbors and his son.

Kurt was fairly handy at cars and had learned everything from Burt. Paper work was something that neither Kurt or Burt enjoyed and once the building needed to be sold, all the forms and so on had to be filled out. Once they were found that is, Burt tossed everything building related in a box that had grown to several boxes.

Blaine had insisted that the papers be sorted and filed and _then _the new owner deeds and papers could be sent off to the necessary state departments. Burt was still in recovery and Kurt had to go help.

It was weird that Blaine was the same age as Kurt and had such a gloomy demeanor. No, it was very cool and standoffish. He clearly didn't want to be here anymore than Kurt though he didn't say as much. He didn't say much at all except to grumble incoherently as he shuffled through endless stacks of paper.

Burt had bought the business and building from the owner nearly twenty years ago and there was a lot of old paper to go through. Some of it wasn't even needed back then and certainly not now. Office work wasn't Burt's strong suit and Kurt couldn't help but feel a little bothered at the lack of filing and sorting.

"Why?" Blaine turned in the old office chair his dad always sat it with such emotionless eyes. "This has to get done before the New Year."

"It's Christmas Eve, don't you want to spend time with your family?" Kurt replied wishing that he was anywhere but here. It wasn't a job he was getting paid for but he didn't mind it because if he didn't do it, his father would be here instead.

"Christmas Eve?" Blaine repeated not feeling the chilly air in the office. The roof sort of leaked when it rained and thankfully it was in the corner where there was no computer.

"Yes, it's a holiday where you spend time with your family, I know you have parents." Kurt rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it'll be warmer at home and I don't mean just from the fireplace or whatever you have in that mansion of yours."

Blaine frowned and glanced down at the stack of building related paraphernalia. "I suppose it would be, but I have to finish this."

"Does that mean I can go? I'll come back for a few hours tomorrow." Kurt's voice sounded lighter. Blaine swallowed hard and inhaled deeply before releasing it. "Come back tomorrow, first thing."

"Awesome! Thank you." Kurt kicked the old wooden chair under the table and left the paper work as it was laid out on the large table they had set up. They weren't even half way finished and Blaine would much rather push through until the weather got too bad.

It wasn't like he had to drive home anyway, he had a driver that was waiting for him when he called.

Kurt left with a wave he ignored and trotted out into the main shop area where he shut the small door cut out of the garage door. A kind of hobbit-like door Kurt had stupidly opened his mouth and teased the first time Blaine was sent to this job.

Before he arrived this morning, yes, it wasn't quite bright as nights were long and days were short, he was approached by two people around his age. Perfectly matched with handmade badges that read they were from the local church. "Would you like to donate a couple dollars to the toy drive, sir?" The pretty blonde asked catching him as he stepped out of the black jeep he had ridden in. "A couple of dollars?" Blaine scoffed adjusting the blue and red scarf around his neck. "No, go away."

"You don't have to be so mean, it's for the kids at the shelter." The curvy black girl with the badge reading 'Hello, my name is Mercedes' in large blocky letters. "It's in the spirit of Christmas."

Blaine sneered and went along his way leaving the two teenage girls to grumble behind him. "Mercedes, calm down. He doesn't have to donate if he doesn't want to." The girl's voice drifted over the morning stillness. "For the kids, it's only a dollar, not much Quinn."

There was no guilt in Blaine's heart.

* * *

There's chapter 2 written and I have no idea when to upload it just yet. I'd like to get a few chapters written and read through before posting them for all my mistakes to be seen...


	2. An Invitation Refused

Chapter 2.

Not much to say except it is a lot harder to follow the original story than I thought in this part. I've never written Cooper before but perhaps I've managed to make him just as charming as other writers?

* * *

It was yesterday afternoon that Blaine's brother Cooper had dropped in on the Anderson family. Cooper was technically the black sheep of the family. Good looks, a winsome personality that was both charming to the opposite sex and a little grating to the same gender. He had gone out to California the day after he turned eighteen and had received his money from a trust fund their paternal grandparents set up for the boys when they were born. Blaine was around ten years old when Cooper left. After that, it was a lot calmer because there were less disagreements between Cooper and their father but just as tense because Cooper was such a forbidden topic to speak aloud. Blaine decided that he was going to be the good son and follow in the family business of real estate managing.

That had pleased John Anderson greatly but he had never mentioned that to Blaine growing up.

With Cooper back in town and staying at the local Howard Johnson hotel, the seasonal atmosphere was still tense with unspoken anger and hurt both from Blaine, Cooper and their parents. Apparently Cooper was aware of this and had stopped by the Anderson house and invited Blaine to a party.

"But not just any party…" Cooper's bright blue eyes gleamed with that certain holiday sparkle Blaine didn't care to see. "A holiday get together with some of my old Dalton friends and your fellow classmates!"

Standing on the front porch of their stately home, Blaine could blink for a moment before wrinkling his nose. "I have work to do. I can't be bothered with a party."

Cooper sighed dramatically and placed a slender hand on his little brother's shoulder. "You won't do this for me?" Sighing, Blaine shrugged displacing the hand on his shoulder. "I have little interest when there's work I have to get done. _Our _dad is counting on me_."_

"Oh Blaine, can't you have a little time to have fun?" Cooper exclaimed in the slightly warmer afternoon air. It was getting cold and Cooper, living his dream out in California, had to buy proper winter snow gear at the mall. If he were to admit it, Blaine thought Cooper looked extremely awkward in the extra bulky layers of clothing. However since Cooper left Ohio, their relationship was strained. It was like they were strangers despite living in the same house for years.

"I will, after I finish the job." Blaine said pointedly shifting slightly in front of the house's entrance. "But you can't promise that." Cooper said sounding disappointed despite the fixed smile on his face.

Blaine shrugged and turned to go inside. "I'll see if I can make time, but don't count on it."

Cooper didn't reply and let out a deep exhale. "Right. I'll text you the details."

Blaine closed the door and headed to his room. The holidays were nothing but a way to encourage laziness and gluttony. Work was more important and completing the job early meant either saving money or making money or even both. It was a lesson that was drummed into Blaine since before Cooper left. He was probably the cleverest boy in his grade and had started a betting circle before that got shut down when someone snitched on him to his father. He had called Cooper as he had told Blaine to call him if they needed to talk but Cooper never called back.

Instead, Blaine had been grounded and given a lecture about being a good Anderson and how he should make money fair and square when people are watching. He had the same lecture in different variations until it clicked when he was thirteen. Sometimes you had to climb on top of other people to get to the prize at the end. Maybe you'll make some people angry but money matters to the Andersons. The more, the better. Cover your bases and all angles and things will turn out in your favor.

With Cooper, he had rebelled. He wasn't the Anderson that could take over the business. He did enjoy the wealth and connections but didn't want to work for it. His interests laid in acting and the only place to do that was in California. And the moment he got his chance to get out from their father's thumb, he left. Their mother, Norah Anderson was the perfectly made up trophy wife that spent more time out of the house with her fellow country club type friends while Blaine was left to the housekeeper and a nanny when he was in his early grade school years. His mother fired the nanny (Blaine always called her 'Lolly' as a child) when some silverware went missing when he was in fourth grade. It was found in the wrong drawer later and Lolly wasn't hired back.

In such a large house lived a group of people who with communication and time, could be a family. But there was no time in the Anderson schedule. Book club meetings and girls' night out for Norah, business meetings over dinner for John and Blaine. Blaine had school work and whatever assignments he was given by his dad. There's a lot to do in real estate and he was becoming crafty in the same way as his father.

He had no time for an unscheduled party tomorrow. The old car shop building in down town Lima had finished. The owner had a mess of a filing system and had offered his son as a way of saying sorry. Blaine snorted softly as he stared out the window at the garden. It was in hibernation, his mother's prize winning rose garden trimmed and nothing but stalks.

And yet… Blaine let out a slow breath. He hope tomorrow that the paperwork would be done and there would be the next job and the next after that. Time pauses for no one despite how many zeroes are after their name.

Tomorrow brings a brand new day.

* * *

:/ I wonder if this sounds a little rambled. Cooper does make an appearance later I think... Chapter 3 is a lot better and maybe I'll upload it tomorrow.


	3. Sam's Ghost

I'm still getting used to this document manager thing. Much different than Wattpad.

Anyway, since this is a very Alternate Universe, the characters will be in different roles and it's a bit tricky getting the right Glee character into The Christmas Carol character! I changed who was going to be the Jacob Marley character a couple times before settling on the current one.

Now the chapter is back in the present time.

* * *

Blaine resumed his work at the desk, reading the faded black ink from the old inkjet printers of the 90s. He remembered his dad working at the office and having an entire table just for the printer and the fax machine. It was hard to read through the sometimes stained from water and coffee and generally dusty papers but it was a job that had to be done.

Absently, he scrubbed as his forehead, his fingertips grazing slightly at the curls he gelled back earlier this morning.

A tapping sound interrupted his thoughts. Glancing up from his seat, he could hear it again. "Who's there?" He called dropping his pen on the papers spread about.

Rising from his chair, he went to check on the door Kurt left through. It was locked. Blaine rose to look through the tiny peephole and saw there was no one there. He stepped back and rubbed his forehead.

He walked back to the office in the back, mindful of the different pieces of shop equipment that were scattered in a kind of formation. Pathways were long worn into the painted cement of the shop floor.

Glancing up for a moment, he froze in his tracks. He could swear he saw a face in the lower shop windows. A blink and then it was gone.

He shook his head and almost smiled. If he didn't know better, the face had a generous mouth and a styled hair cut with swooped bangs.

Much like Sam.

Sam. He hadn't thought of him in years. Sam was his friend from his old school and they had been close friends, not quite best friends as Cooper had been in that place, but Sam did stick up for Blaine when the much taller boys picked on him in grade school.

Sam was more like Kurt, he realized still staring at the pane of glass where he thought he saw Sam's face. It was still light outside but night was approaching fast.

Sam didn't come from a lot of money and had made a point of not telling Blaine that. After Cooper left, Sam tried to comfort Blaine but he had brushed him off. He wouldn't understand and as a kid, his brother meant the world to him.

Then things changed and Blaine began to focus on what was really important in life: money and status.

Returning to the office, it was too hard to focus on reading and Blaine decided to go home and try again tomorrow.

His father was supposed to be there unless the roads held him up due to the weather. Snow storms always blew up around this week and the meteorologists had predicted a heavy snowfall this week.

Blaine called his driver and in a few minutes, the car came around to the front of the shop. He set the alarm code and locked the building.

It was a quiet drive back to the house.

* * *

They arrived an extremely long forty-five minutes later because of the caution the driver had. Black ice was a real danger in such low temperatures and Blaine much rather spend his nights in his room at the house than in the hospital recovering from injuries from reckless driving.

That would mean hospital bills therefore money wasted on something that could be prevented.

Once at the front door, he fumbled for his key, berating himself for not getting it out while in the well lit car. The driver had gone around to park the car in one of the family's many garages and head to his own house, wherever that was. Blaine didn't care and as long as he had a ride somewhere, no questions were asked.

"Dammit." He dropped the keys on the front porch and fumbled around trying to find them. Blaine managed to find them, nearly bumping his head on the door frame in his haste. It was freezing outside and he much rather die inside where it was slightly warmer.

His dad probably switched off the heat though. Why have it on when no one is home? He remembered him saying.

Looking up and shoving the correct key into the lock, the fancy ornate door knocker had shifted. "Sam?"

"Hello Blaine." It said, the generous mouth moving.

It was supposed to be the Westerly wind but there was no angry eyebrows but bangs combed forward.

"I…" Blaine stuttered then torn his eyes away. He's talking to a door knocker. Twisting the key, he tripped inside and locked the door behind him.

It was cool but not as cold as the tire shop. He removed his outer layer and went to the kitchen to make himself a hot drink. Normally there would be a meal laid out but since his parents weren't sure when they were going to be home, there was no prepared meal.

Tea was made and drunk plain and he made himself a sandwich with some leftovers he found in the fridge. He brought it up to his room where he allowed the tea to cool a little while he changed into his pajamas and bathrobe he had hanging on a hook on the wall. Navy blue with white piping and a comfy old robe that was a rather bland brown, gray and blue plaid. Nice warm pajamas.

He drank his tea and ate his ham and cheese sandwich. Out of the corner of his eye he could see white swirling around the windowsill. Snow fall already, he thought checking the time and seeing it was nearly eight o'clock. Sandwich was finished and his tea had the bits of leaves on the bottom, he went to look out at the falling snow.

At one time he would've thought it was a magical thing but now… he knew better.

Then, he squinted into the darkness and raised a hand to block out his reflection in the glass. There were people floating around? He leaned forward until his head bumped against the glass and leaving a smudge from the hair gel. "It can't be any colder out there compared to in here." He told himself before unlatching the window lock and sliding it open.

It truly looked like people floating around in the swirling snow. Then he recognized one of them. "Sam?" The same face on the door knocker and in the window pane at the car shop drifted closer.

The same worn out clothes: hoodie with a surf shop logo on the back and a pair of jeans that fit well enough but were better off on a hobo or in the garbage bin. The face he remembered from one of the photos he found on Facebook when he had a moment of nostalgia and wondered what happened to his friend. The figure drifted close to Blaine who was nearly half hanging out of his window in shock.

"What do you want?" Blaine stupidly asked staring at the familiar features that were there but weren't _there. _His face had a white bandana wrapped around his head at a slight angle and the dark circles underneath Sam's eyes were very pronounced.

"Dude, you should ask me who I _was_." The Sam thing said raising his light colored eyebrows so they disappeared under his long bangs.

"Who were you?" Blaine repeated having no idea what that would accomplish. "Are you…?"

"In life, I was your partner." Not Sam said sounding pleased with itself. "Well, we played a lot of cops and robbers with some of the other kids during recess. It was our thing."

"Uh…" Blaine scooted back into his room and wondered what to do. "Would you like to- Can you sit down?"

"I can, it's cool." Sam drifted in not paying mind to the parade of transparent figures outside still swirling around in the falling snow.

He dropped down onto one of the two easy chairs Blaine had in his room he liked to have for reading casually.

"You don't believe I'm real." Sam said after a long pause once Blaine had sat down on the opposite chair.

Blaine shrugged. "Not really."

"You aren't spiritual so…" Not Sam leaned forward and rested his forearms on his upper legs. "What proof do you have that I'm not real?"

"I don't know." Blaine glanced all around the room and then finally dared a glance on his old…friend. "For all I know you could be the result of the sandwich I ate. Those leftovers could be rotten and now I'm hallucinating."

Sam sighed and didn't pout, no he did not. He snapped pale fingers and produced an image of a young Blaine with a huge smile and Sam with a matching grin of his own holding pretend pistols in between them.

"What in the-?" Blaine jumped in his seat and wished he had something more durable than the pajamas and bathrobe on. "Why are you bothering me?"

"Just making a point, do you believe in me? That I do exist?"

Blaine nodded and babbled, "I do, I do! But why do you come to me? Why do these other spirits come here as well?"

"Part of the whole process, I guess." The ghost scratched his head around the bandana. "It was probably in some book but I didn't bother reading it. Probably should have…"

"So all that… all spirits walk the earth? For how long? I need to know something before I go in case this happens to me!" Blaine cried wondering if he could touch Sam and not pass a hand through the apparition.

"I can't offer you help, man. I shouldn't even be here." Sam the ghost shrugged and stood up. "I wasn't told that much but I can tell you one, no two things." He held up one finger than changed it to two.

"Thanks?" Blaine tried to put on a smile but it felt too forced.

"You'll be haunted by three spirits."

"What?"

"Yeah, and they'll come at different times so don't think you can get it done all at once." Sam said with a head tilt. He looked terribly tall standing. "And you're to learn a lesson."

"What lesson?" Blaine asked looking defeated that he couldn't get three ghosts to visit in one go. "Sam?"

The spirit didn't say anything, just walked with slow determined steps to the window Blaine didn't close and dove out with a wailing inhuman scream.

"Sam!" Blaine called rushing to the window and seeing the shifting and swirling mass of spirits in the air. All with their mouths open in a silent call in the night.

He couldn't see Sam anywhere and shoved the window down and latched it, checking it three times. With the window closed and the double paned glass between him and the outside, the spirits were no more but snowflakes and icy wind.

Shivering, Blaine climbed under the covers, not bothering to brush his teeth or take off his robe and fell asleep.


	4. First of the Three

Christmas soon... I bought my sister a present but gave it to her early. She said she would wrap it up and be awesomely surprised come Christmas Day. :D

Warnings? None I don't think...

* * *

Now when Blaine finally woke up it was still dark. He laid in his bed wondering if Sam was a ghost and if he had truly visited him last night. The weird parade of ghosts and specters outside his window was the strangest thing he had ever seen. It didn't compare to anything he had been part of before and it lingered in his consciousness as he struggled to fall asleep again.

Unfortunately he couldn't and could hear the the big grandfather clock downstairs in the den chiming twelve times. Twelve o'clock in the morning, he thought letting out a deep sigh, he scrambled underneath the covers and tried to make himself comfy. The heat wasn't on and the room was a little chilly.

Shivering, he tried to fall asleep but ended up rolling around restlessly until, the clock chimed one.

An entire hour of no sleep, Blaine mused grumpily and was already regretting how exhausted he was going to feel in the during the daylight hours.

Suddenly, the room filled with a bright light, stinging his eyes. He covered his eyes with both hands and sat up with some difficulty. "What in the heck?" He muttered hoarsely rubbing his eyes as the light faded to a more comfortable level.

He blinked and stared at the figure at the end of his bed. Long glossy black hair and dark almond shaped eyes that held a mysterious light. "Who are you?" He asked clutching at his blankets.

"I'm the Spirit of Christmas Past." She said adjusting the tiny white top hat trimmed with garland of white branches that glowed with a soft white light. The tunic she wore was also white with a narrow belt tied to the side in a simple bow. In her hand she held an branch of fresh holly.

"Spirit of Christmas Past?" Blaine repeated still stuck on how the being wearing such strange clothes got into the house much less his room.

"Your past in fact." She said with a nod. "Come." She held out a small hand.

Numb, Blaine remembered that Sam mentioned the three spirits would be visiting him. Better to get it over with, Blaine thought pushing the covers aside and got up. He shoved his feet into his slippers and followed the Spirit to the window. "Follow me."

She held onto his hand with a surprisingly firm grip and tugged him closer to the opened window.

"Hey!" Blaine exclaimed shuffling back several steps. "I'm not going out of the window. I'll hurt myself!"

The Spirit rolled her eyes, a very human-like gesture on her face. She shifted, her skin glowing a pleasantly warm white and yellow color. "Relax, Blaine, you won't be hurt as long as we're together." She raised the hand holding the holly branch at the wall and they passed right through.

"Whoa!" Blaine exclaimed as they floated through and hovered in the air.

As he spoke, his house disappeared and the garden too. A mist rose from the ground and then fell away almost immediately.

"I…" Blaine looked around and squeezed the Spirit's hand too hard. Not flinching, she watched him carefully. "Do you recognize this place?"

Blaine nodded. "This is my old neighborhood." The houses were far smaller and each one had a small lawn in front where there were cheap Christmas decorations and the occasional swing set. He remembered there was a lot of kids that lived in the neighborhood and they all played together.

"Is there something wrong?" The Spirit asked as they hovered over the roof tops.

Blaine swiped at his eyes and shook his head. "Nope. I'm..fine, just fine."

He pointed with his free hand. "Look, there's the old club house at the park."

They swooped down and actually walked on the sidewalk. There was snow everywhere, freshly fallen and it looked like a wonderland. A perfect white Christmas.

The kids at the small park were loudly shouting, throwing snowballs and were red-cheeked from the cold and from their activities. "I remember this, there was…"

"A lonely boy neglected by his friends." The Spirit said with a soft sigh. "Most unfortunate."

Blaine swallowed past the lump in his throat. They entered the little shelter where there was a group of picnic benches. And a curly haired little boy decked out in snow gear.

"It was a pretty awful Christmas at first," Blaine murmured looking at himself. "But then…"

There were shrieks of laughter from the outside as a comically dressed man covered with jingle bells and had a deep bellowing laugh. He spoke with an accent and for some reason, had a green parrot on his shoulder that squawked at odd intervals and said 'Happy Christmas!'

"The odd traveler…" Blaine grinned, a strange sight on his more grown up face. His other self had ran out of the little club house and already was chatting with the parrot who had decided to perch on the young boy's hand.

Blaine sighed feeling melancholic. "I wish…"

"What's the matter?" The Ghost asked.

He shook his head. "It's nothing, nothing at all."

The Ghost smiled thoughtfully and waved a hand. "Let's see another Christmas.

* * *

The scene faded to a black and then something new formed.

"This is…?" Blaine asked clutching his robe closer and squinting at the door that appeared. "My cousin's house?" A slightly older Blaine, compared to the little Blaine from before, came walking down the sidewalk with a heavy gait. He knocked on the door and immediately he was greeted by his cousin Francine.

"Hello dear cousin!" Francine said with open arms. She resembled Blaine a little with her dark curly hair and tan skin. Fran, as she preferred to be called, lucked out and was slim and tall as well. She and her girlfriend were happy but Blaine's dad already expressed his thoughts on such behavior. "Come in, have some food and wine!"

Fran wasn't one for following the rules and in turn alienated her family; she didn't care and her only link to the Anderson clan was through Blaine and Cooper.

"I'm not twenty-one yet." The other Blaine said with a small grin but didn't put down the tumbler of pale wine shoved toward him.

"I won't tell if you won't!" Fran sang merrily.

Blaine and the Spirit watched as the festivities continued with the other young Blaine singing, eating and drinking.

"That was the last Christmas I had with Fran and Jules." Blaine said watching the happy scene unfold. "I wasn't allowed to go and see them."

"Do you remember what happened to them?" The Ghost asked watching Blaine carefully.

He thought back and sighed. "My parents had essentially told them to never contact me or the family again. I think Cooper still talks to them occasionally.

The get together faded and another reappeared.

Blaine recognized the cowlick of hair. "Sebastian!" He exclaimed looking upon his closest friend from his school. "We were stuck at Dalton because of the snow and were supposed to be taking inventory of all the supplies in the dorm house's storage. We had to do that because we were caught hiding that gavel Wes loves so much."

Sebastian was nodding along to the opening notes on a CD player as he made notes on a clipboard. "My parents went overseas for business in Asia." Blaine said quietly watching his younger self pick up a cushion that was part of the extra sofa that was part of the senior commons at one time. The other Blaine tip toed behind Sebastian and walloped him with the cushion.

A fight ensued and the inventory recording was all but forgotten as the two boys had a pillow fight. "It was only a dozen or so boys here aside from the couple of caretakers for each of the dorm houses." Blaine said watching the play fight explode into a cloud of feathers and bits of fluff from pillows. "And after that we went down to the kitchen and had eaten ourselves sick with ice cream and all sorts of toppings."

As if they heard Blaine speak, the boys stopped their pillow fight battle and caught their breaths. "Ice cream!" Sebastian wheezed out between breaths. "Yeah! Let's go before we get in trouble!" Blaine said grabbing his friend's hand and racing out of the storage area.

"And then we got caught by the other kids and ended up having an ice cream fight. My parents were pretty angry about it."

Blaine's shoulders drooped and the Spirit waved her hand at the scene and it disappeared. They reappeared in Blaine's room again.

"Why are you so quiet?" The Ghost asked blinking liquid eyes. The little top hat she had perched on her dark hair had shifted into a small tiara of white spikes.

"It's kind of…torturous seeing such happy memories." Blaine said quickly fussing with his robe's belt.

"Torturous?" The Spirit said with her glow dimming just a touch.

"Yes, I don't want to see anymore. Please leave." Blaine turned away from her and went to sit on the bed.

"If that is what you wish." The Spirit sounded very weary.

"Yes, please leave." He turned around and saw the spirit stepping back a few steps. She stayed there and with a slightly glum expression on her feminine features.

Blaine then snatched a throw blanket off his bed and threw it over the figure. The light from the spirit instantly disappeared. It flared slightly until the blanket shrank until it lay on a heap on the carpet.

"Good riddance." Blaine muttered stepping on the blanket making sure that the spirit was gone for good. He then peeked underneath and was pleased to see there was nothing there so he tossed the blanket back on the bed.

He yawned and tucked himself back into bed.

* * *

Ran a quick spell check over this in MS Word (I use Scrivener to write my stories now) and found I spelled 'Tumbler' as 'Tumblr'.

Now back to plugging away at _You Know I Love You _with more typing and revising and listening to You Know I Love You on repeat. :D


	5. The Second of Three

Chapter five with the Ghost of Christmas Present. Does anyone wonder who the actual Ghosts are? I tried to put some of the actual characteristics with the Spirit of Christmas Past. Oh well.

This part ended up being longer than I thought but I still felt there was more to be added. I think this is also the longest chapter from the actual 'A Christmas Carol' story!

* * *

Blaine woke up with a snuffling snore. It wasn't too dark but wasn't night or morning yet. He sat up in his bed and looked around. The blanket he had thrown at the Ghost of the Past was still in a heap on the floor. Clearly the previous night's events were well and truly real. The visiting of his old neighborhood and seeing how happy his Christmas Days were at one time…

He shook his head at the thoughts that were threatening to make him feel funny inside. The huge grandfather clock down in the den chimed loudly. Gong… it echoed through the empty house with such an ominous tone that made Blaine shiver helplessly.

Drawing the blankets up, he made to scoot beneath the covers and try and sleep but it was no use. A gradual light from beneath his bedroom door glowed softly.

"What is this?" Blaine muttered rubbing at his eyes. "No one should be home…And Cooper doesn't have the keys anymore…" He got out of bed, shoving his feet into his slippers then retying the robe around his person not having taking it off to sleep.

He rested a hand on the door knob and paused for a moment. "Blaine." Glancing around he furrowed his eyebrows and bit his lip. His name was said again and he yanked open the door.

His room.

His very own room decorated that it was scarcely recognizable.

There were garlands of tinsel hung around the top of the walls with glass baubles in red and green alternating with ornaments in silver and gold. Old fashion lights were hung around his window and blinked merrily. A live Christmas tree was in the corner a fully decorated with blown glass ornaments, silver tinsel and a glittering star at the top. Surprisingly enough all the linens including his bedspread were changed into something more appropriate: green and red holly printed tablecloths and throw pillows that had snowmen embroidered dancing around.

Then there in the corner was his easy chair where he would sit and read books was a giant. "Hey, come in, come in!" The being slouched quite happily.

"Uh, h-hi." Blaine shuffled inside and shut the door behind him.

"Hello. I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present." The giant spirit said with a nod. He stood up and held his arms out for a moment and dropped them. "Pretty cool huh?"

Blaine dared to look at him and was struck at how casual he was dressed. "Um…"

A pair of worn jeans and dark green sneakers on his lower half and following a quick path up, the giant had a plain white t-shirt and a green hooded jacket. It would look quite ordinary except for the ethereal glow about the tall spirit's face. "Dude, are you okay?" The Spirit of Present asked slowly leaning down to nudge Blaine's shoulder. Blaine jerked and nodded quickly.

"You're really tall." He blurted and stepped back quickly. "What is this?"

"Uh, Christmas?" The Spirit said confused himself. "Look, I'm supposed to show you what's going to happen in the Present."

"Right." Blaine said a little anxious.

"Right." The Spirit echoed and offered his exceptionally long hood. "Hold on here."

Obeying dumbly, Blaine grabbed on slightly timidly before he felt himself jerk and was airborne.

* * *

"Oh my!" Blaine censored himself as he flew with the Ghost through the air. Over the tops of the houses he could see kids playing in the daylight, throwing snowballs at each other at the nearby park. The wind was cold but it wasn't chilling to the bone. The children were laughing loudly as they made a connection with their snowball missiles. Couples and larger groups of people were singing off key holiday songs as they walked arm in arm to their destinations. It was cheerful, Blaine had to admit, a bit of warmth coming into his chest as he watched the people go about their business.

The church bells belonging to the local community church chimed loudly calling parishioners to the service. Trails of people headed to the building, all with expressions of pleasantness and joviality. It was mood lifting if Blaine could say so as they drifted from one place to the next.

After seeing the people go to their preferred house of worship, the Spirit and Blaine set down at the main street. The grocery store was full of people pushing their shopping through the parking lot to bring to their home for preparation. Everyone was cheerful and moving with purpose.

"Is that your doing?" Blaine asked finally once they entered the store and watched as cashiers' rang up food purchases. "Those people that have very little?"

"Me?" The Spirit had a somewhat confused look on his face.

"Yes, they are paying with coupons. I recognize the symbol of those there." Blaine had yet to release the Spirit's long hood. "I…"

"They will be fine. It's cool." The Spirit rubbed a large hand through his short brown hair. "Some people aren't going to have a Christmas dinner though."

"Why?"

The Ghost shrugged absently. "Some don't celebrate and others do it to themselves. Poor kids will suffer though. If there are any."

The Spirit dragged him to the food bank around the corner. It was a dismal little place but dressed up cheerily enough. There appeared to be more families than food and seating areas. Blaine trailed after the Ghost who had passed through the swinging door to the kitchen where volunteers were hard at work preparing the meals. "People don't give. Not everyone has to, it's their own choice but ya know, it'd be nice if those with a lot can give to those that have much less."

Blaine was silent and bit his lip as he took in the scene before him. "Can't you do something?"

"I try but it's helpful if everyone pitches in."

They left the food bank and rose above the roof of the buildings and set off again to a residential area.

* * *

"Where are we?" Blaine asked when they landed easily on the sidewalk shoveled clear of fallen snow. He didn't have a clue where they were and all the houses looked unremarkable. The Ghost smiled and didn't say anything. He walked and Blaine followed feeling very small next to the very tall being.

A green SUV was parked next to an old beat up truck that should have been salvage parts about ten years ago. "Is that?" Blaine said aloud scratching his arm absently having let go of the Spirit's hood. "What?" The Spirit asked looking down at the other dude. "This is our the place."

Blaine looked at the house and wasn't entirely impressed. "Go on." The Spirit poked his shoulder.

He glanced at the spirit and then made his way up the half-heartedly shoveled walk way nearly slipping on the hard surface. "How dangerous."

They passed through the front door and Blaine had gasped loudly.

The familiar head of chestnut hair looked up. "Dad, you shouldn't strain yourself." Kurt said disapprovingly as he abandoned the ornament he was rehanging on the rather shabby looking tree by the window. There was a fire going in the fireplace and Burt Hummel was carrying in an armful of logs. "I can manage a little Kurt, I'm still your dad." Burt grumbled looking worse for wear.

The older man dumped the wood into a crate by the fireplace and took a fire poker to adjust the already burning logs inside. "Dad, the fire's fine. Let's eat."

The two Hummels went to the kitchen and Blaine and the Spirit followed behind them. The table was covered in a nicely patterned table cloth and a few covered dishes. "Would you do the honors?" Kurt offered the carving knife and fork to his dad who took them and began carving the roasted chicken on a chipped platter. "I thought you were going to get the green beans…" Burt said placing a chicken leg on Kurt's plate and the other on his own mismatched dish.

"Too expensive." Kurt said quietly spooning mashed yams onto his dad's plate and then his. Burt hummed and then said: "Dig in. Looks delicious!"

Blaine and the Spirit just stood there and watched the pair eat. It was simple and looked delicious despite it just being the two of them.

Burt let out random noises of delight as they ate their Christmas dinner. The dressing had celery in it and Blaine's mouth watered as Kurt ate his drumstick in one hand and his fork spearing the asparagus with almonds in the other. It was a decent spread and Blaine couldn't imagine his own family doing the same. His parents were busy more often in the evening and ate separately. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time the entire family (including Cooper) had a family dinner together.

Kurt and Burt finished the entire meal between them and Blaine couldn't help but notice that Burt was looking particularly ill. Kurt himself had cleared off the table, telling his dad to sit and have some more of the sparkling cider.

"Spirit." Blaine found himself asking. "Will Burt, is Burt going to make it to next Christmas?"

The Spirit sighed. "I see Kurt alone next Christmas. It'll be hard and maybe he'll pull through."

Blaine swallowed. "Oh."

The Ghost nudged his shoulder and Blaine allowed himself to be led away. He could see Kurt and Burt going to the living room to sit by the fire with a slice of store bought pumpkin pie each.

* * *

The Spirit took them to another house that seemed a little more familiar. "This is the greatest party ever!" Cooper yelled over the remix of Jingle Bell Rock. He poured himself a drink from one of the many open bottles of wine and raised a glass. "To Blaine who couldn't be here tonight because he's a workaholic!"

All around, Blaine recognized people he thought of as friends, Wes and David, Thad and Trent plus Nick and Jeff along with some other people Blaine didn't recognize.

"Cheers!" Everyone chorused loudly with their own drinks held up. "Yeah, it is too bad Blaine isn't here." Wes said to David. Cooper draped an arm each over the young men and squeezed them close. "I invited him but he said he might come." Cooper seemed disappointed. "Sadly he is turning into our father. I should've been there to guide him away from that. I kind of feel sorry for him."

His brother sighed and removed his arms from the uncomfortable Wes and David. "More singing!"

Someone had set up a karaoke set on the TV set and started a singing contest. As the night wound down and Cooper had started a Twenty Questions sort of game where guests had to guess who he was thinking of.

"Is it a female?" Jeff asked sipping on some spiked punch with flushed cheeks.

Cooper shook his head and grinned widely. "Nope!"

"A male then. Do we know him?"

Cooper nodded quickly and stopped with an ill look but recovered quickly. Too much to drink, Blaine thought watching as everyone fired off questions.

"Oh, oh I know who it is!" Trent cried out with the top three buttons of his shirt undone. "Blaine!"

The man in question started and glanced at the Ghost and back to Cooper who started laughing so hard he had tears. "Yes, a male we know and a workaholic who hates Christmas!" He chortled and nearly rolled off his chair.

Everyone laughed, genuinely laughter that wasn't hurtful or spiteful but Blaine felt the sting anyway.

* * *

The Spirit led them away to another house and another after that. All had much less wealth than Blaine's family and a few he recognized as being people his father had business dealings with. Namely parts where the father Anderson had bought their property. It was truly an eye opening journey all around the tri-county area and while the families hadn't much like his own, they were happy and thrilled to be with each other.

"Looks like I gotta go." The Spirit said flying them back to Blaine's own bedroom. "I hope it was helpful, dude."

Blaine nodded dumbly and watched as the Spirit smiled genuinely and then faded away.

Alone again, Blaine could only wonder what kind of person he was and was becoming.

Unfortunately he had moments to think of such things when a broad shouldered figure with a draping hood covering their face appeared by the bedroom door.

The clock downstairs chimed midnight, a faint sound over Blaine's pounding heart.

Then the specter reached out for him with a heavy blunt fingered hand.

* * *

I switched the Ghost of Christmas Future from one Glee character to another. Did anyone guess that the Christmas Present Ghost was Finn? In the book he's supposed to be a giant so I went with Finn.

There will be maybe 2 more chapters and then it's finished. :)


	6. The Last Ghost

Nearing the end! I'm sure it will be a happy one, right?

I was thinking of using Artie as the Ghost of Christmas Future but I switched it a couple times and decided not to pick any particular character. (The Ghost is supposed to be silent and mysterious...who within the Glee Club is like that?!)

It's raining and it's cold and I'm trying to finish up A Carole Christmas. Mostly because I'm stuck on You Know I Love You. :(

* * *

The Ghost moved closer to Blaine who shrank back until his back hit the wall. The air seemed to change around the being, casting gloom, doom and shadows about.

Blaine couldn't see the face nor could he figure out if it was a male or female like the previous two Ghosts. The huge shroud tightened to a curvy shape and then billowed out to a point it was a broad shouldered tall male. It didn't help that the garment blended in with the already dark room.

It felt tall and regal standing so close to him despite the feeling of dread welling up inside Blaine's stomach.

"I'm…You're the Ghost of Christmas that…hasn't come yet?"

The Spirit didn't speak but inclined its head with a slight nod. Then it raised an arm, billowing with the gray and black fabric toward the door to the hallway outside his bedroom.

With shaky legs, he led the way to the outside and was met with the scene of Lima's down town Main street. "Ghost of the Future!" He turned to see the Spirit was standing close to him. "You are undoubtedly the scariest spirit of the three but are you to show me the future, my future so that I'm supposed to be a better person?"

It gave him no reply and only pointed straight ahead.

"Alright then." Blaine wasn't sure if the Spirit was confirming his thoughts or not but they started off.

They scarcely walked through the first block of the main street when they came across a small group of people Blaine's own age chatting underneath an overhanging sipping their steaming coffee and hot chocolates.

"Did you hear?" One of the girl's asked blowing on her hot chocolate. "I heard that he died but that's about it."

"When? Last night or this morning?" Another asked interested.

"Last night or so I heard." The first girl answered.

"Was he sick?" A young man asked noisily slurping the whipped topping off his hot chocolate. The girl smacked his arm with a gloved hand. "Who knows."

"I wonder what's going to happen to the money… You know he was rolling in it 'cause of his daddy." A boy with a knitted red beanie snorted rolling his eyes.

The entire group chuckled and the first girl that spoke coughed and said: "I suppose there will be a funeral of sorts. Food afterward. That'd be reason enough to go. Free food, you'll definitely find me there!"

The group laughed again and continued as Blaine and the Ghost continued on their little trek down the sidewalk.

He spotted a couple of guys walking down the street in the opposite direction. "Hey!" The first one said with a blue scarf around his neck.

"What's up?" The second said playfully punching the other in the shoulder.

"Last minute shopping." The Blue Scarf said with a shrug. "Well, I heard that the dude finally croaked!"

"That's what I heard too! Cold though isn't it?"

"Eh, we'll get snow later," The Blue Scarf rubbed his hands together. "I'll see you around, have a good Christmas!"

The pair went on their own way.

Blaine was a little confused as to why the Ghost stopped at first the group and then these two people to hear their conversations. So, someone died or so Blaine figured and it seemed to have some importance to the Spirit.

He sort of recognized the neighborhood as it changed. His dad had an office here and when the Ghost and Blaine had gone to see it, it was quiet and dark.

That wasn't surprising, his dad had other offices but this was the one Blaine had the key and alarm combination for. When he was younger, he used to come here to do his homework and help out with menial office tasks like filing or sorting through the office supplies. He was quite proud to be helping with such 'important' stuff when he was a kid.

However…the office was closed, it wasn't Christmas or was it? These visits were a bit time weird and he could be reliving the same day over and over like that hellish movie _Groundhog Day_ with Bill Murray.

The Spirit passed right through the darkened door of the office and sighing, Blaine followed him.

Instead of it being quiet and empty, Blaine could hear some shuffling in the back room where the supplies were kept.

"Lookie what I got!" A female chortled from the dimly lit room. "The stapler that belonged to him, hah!"

The woman's companions, two of which Blaine recognized as two former temps that John Anderson had reluctantly hired as part of the _Hire for the Holidays_ a year earlier. They weren't participating this year because the man had donated enough money to get out of participating.

How did they get in…? Blaine wondered and then it hit him when the woman turned around. The cleaning lady, he thought annoyed that there was no trust between hired employees.

"Good work, Maggie." The man with dark hair said pulling out the beat up coffee maker that had once sat on a folding table. "I swiped this. Might as well, they'll just throw it away."

The other shorter man was just as gleeful with his finds and had shown off the set of coffee mugs he had tucked away in an old shopping bag.

It wasn't expensive stuff but they still belonged to the Anderson Realty Group… Blaine frowned.

"Huh, I got these too." Maggie said revealing a rumpled handful of fabric. Blankets Blaine recognized as ones he used to use on a cot set up when he would get tired of reading. It was better than falling asleep at the desk. He'd done that a few times and woke up with a sore neck and back. Plus it was kind of cold there in the office.

The Ghost didn't do anything except stand there and watch. "Why are they doing this? Stealing from the office!" Blaine was grumpy to say the least and walked around the group who was celebrating their finds. He placed a hand on his desk.

The Spirit drifted back a little a noticeable change and suddenly Blaine was in his room again. His hand on top of his bed but it didn't seem like it was the same from when he left it earlier.

The room was very dark, much darker with the curtains drawn, the door closed and the Specter in the corner just watching him. He pointed a hand and arm at the head of the bed.

Blaine looked squinting in the darkness. He didn't see anything except an oddly shaped lump in the blankets. "I don't understand."

A cold creeping feeling went up his spine as he stood there. He stepped back and shakily inhaled. "I don't like this… If someone died, and…" he couldn't say it. "Does anyone care? In this town, does anyone care?"

The Ghost lowered their arm and reached for a hidden part in its robe. It spread it wide like the ghost was about to curtsy and a scene like a movie began.

A middle aged woman and her two teenage children sat in a living room sparsely decorated for the holidays. Oddly enough the kids weren't on their phones texting or a computer. They just sat there on the worn floral patterned sofa looking slightly ill.

The door opened and Blaine could see the father in rather shabby looking winter gear and stomped snow covered boots on the rubber mat in front of the door.

"Well?" The woman asked getting up to take his coat and scarf. The kids ran over to him and threw their arms around their father. "It's true. He had passed and I asked where the debt will be going but…"

The woman inhaled sharply. "What a relief. But for that family…"

The man nodded looking weary. "We should relax for the moment. Things will be figured out by the end of the week."

The scene changed, morphing into a familiar living room. "Dad!" Kurt said hurriedly stripping off his outdoor clothes and throwing them over the door knob as he entered the small house.

"Kurt? What's wrong?" Burt slowly made his way down stairs looking a bit healthier than he had been during the Christmas dinner with the Ghost of Christmas Present.

"He's gone. I don't know what's going happen with the deal but…" Kurt said breathlessly throwing his arms around his father and hugging him tightly. "I saw him only a day ago and he said you were a good person. It was like he knew…!"

"Kurt…" The older man said hugging him back.

"What happened?" Blaine asked the Ghost who was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "Who died?"

The Spirit raised the edge of their robe and dropped it so the Hummel house disappeared and they were standing in a large empty lot with many stones. Headstones?

Blaine looked around and shivered outwardly. "Why have you brought me here?"

The Ghost didn't answer and had pointed to one of the many crypts that stood out on the bleak surroundings. "Why do you point that way?" Still no answer like before, so Blaine shuffled forward toward the stone buildings, and in between the headstones that were weather worn he couldn't read them at all.

There was a freshly dug plot with a shiny new headstone he could see at a distance. "Is that…?" Blaine could hardly dare to ask. The wind picked up and chilled him to the bone. "Tell me, Spirit." Blaine began swallowing past the uneasiness he felt in his stomach.

"The person the group of people were talking about earlier and the two guys on the main street. Was that… me?" He dared to ask stopping far enough from the fresh grave. "Was I the one that was on the bed, dead?"

The Spirit drifted past Blaine to stand beside the headstone. It pointed at the ground where the dirt was patted down around the bits of grass and then to the headstone where it finally pointed to Blaine.

"No…! Spirit, no, no!" Blaine exclaimed moving on rubbery legs to the headstone as quickly as he could. His hands were trembling terribly and he could only shake his head in disbelief.

He read the stone and saw:

BLAINE DEVON ANDERSON written in blocky letters.

"I will change, I have changed! This can't be my future!"

The Spirit didn't move again and could only shift against the wind. "Spirit, why show me these things? This is only one possible future!"

The Spirit gestured with a fluttering hand and Blaine reached out and grabbed it. Solid and real, Blaine could only stumble back as the Ghost sought to free itself.

It shifted once it was unburdened of the young man's hand. Back into his bedroom again, Blaine could only watch as the Spirit dwindled into sharp, angled shapes until it faded into the shadow of his dresser.

* * *

OK, so the plan was to finish this with a final chapter and possible epilogue (there wasn't one in the original Dickens story but maybe there will be here.)

BUT I kind of want to finish the New Normal AU with a final chapter. Decisions, decisions...


	7. The End At Last

I managed to finish it despite my dad putting me in a terrible mood. I'm afraid the ending might not be overly sappy and sweet but at least it's a happy one.

Kinda bummed out over it. D:

* * *

He woke again in his bed, sprawled out with his blankets twisted around him loosely. "I…am alright?" Blaine sat up and looked around his room. "I am!" Scrambling out of bed, Blaine examined everything in his room and was pleased to see that everything was in its place. Sure, there wasn't any decorations hanging up but it was his place, his room.

Blaine threw open his window and looked out toward the garden. Snow had fallen overnight covering the backyard in a blanket of pure white. "A merry white Christmas, indeed!"

He grabbed his phone on the night table and checked the date. "December twenty-fifth!" Blaine practically vibrated in place.

Quickly dressing in proper outdoor clothes, he made up his mind. First he had to make a few stops before he made his way to his destination.

He made a call to the local HoneyBaked to order a complete Christmas dinner for four using his leverage and family name to rush the order. "It'll be ready in four hours, Mr. Anderson." The slightly nasally voice said sounding incredibly exhausted.

Blaine hung up and gathered his car keys, phone and wallet before running out of the house.

* * *

It was a good four hours later when Blaine finished shopping. He had gone to buy a bunch of toys for the shelter along with enough turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, yams and baked potatoes among other traditional dishes for the shelter he had seen with the Ghost of Present Christmas. It was the very least he could do. Next year there will be better planning.

"Send it all to the Lima Shelter, alright?" Blaine said firmly swiping the credit card. He would be paying for it later but right now he was feeling far too merry. "What about the other one?"

Blaine paused slightly at the door of the HoneyBaked store. It was only open because it was filling last minute orders. "That one I'll be taking to a very special house."

The employee wheeled out a cart with the roasted turkey, salad, sweet yams and green bean casserole. It smelled heavenly in his car, yes he drove here on his own SUV he was given for his birthday a couple years ago.

"Blaine?"

Blaine whirled around and his eyes widened slightly. "Cooper!" He carefully made his way to his brother and threw his arms around his middle. "Merry Christmas Coop."

For a moment Cooper wasn't sure how to react. Was this some kind of weird cosmic joke? Nevertheless, he hugged his baby brother back and patted him heartily on the back. "Good to see you again."

"Right, what are you doing by the way?" Cooper looked over Blaine's head (not his shoulder because Blaine was quite a bit shorter).

"I'm…celebrating. Life is meant to be lived in a positive way and being the way I was…was pretty terrible. I saw things that I never expected and it was eye opening." Blaine explained walking backwards to his car. "I'm going to drop this stuff off, and…maybe if the invitation is open…"

Cooper was floored and smiled brilliantly, his white teeth gleaming in the early afternoon sunshine. "Of course, be over at David's house around six or seven. Party will be going all night so drop by and say hi at the very least."

Blaine nodded with toothy grin.

"I'll see you there! Bye Cooper!"

* * *

Feeling a bit nervous, Blaine stood on the Hummel doorstep with a large bag on each arm from the HoneyBaked store. He knocked loudly, and waited with his ear toward the door. There were footsteps too light to be Burt's gait and then the door was yanked open.

"Blaine?" Kurt exclaimed with shock in his eyes and body. "What are you doing here? Am I supposed to be down at the shop because I-"

"Oh no, no today's a holiday." Blaine lifted the bags he was holding. "I have the rest in the back of my SUV."

Kurt looked confused and looked from the bags to Blaine and then to the dark blue SUV parked on the street in front of the Hummel's drive way.

"Stuff? Er, what's going on?" Kurt allowed him to enter the house and set down the heavy bags. "I've had a change of heart. I'm sorry for what has happened and, and this," Blaine gestured at the food Kurt didn't know was in the bags. "This is only a small gesture of what I hope to accomplish. I'll talk to my dad about everything and, it'll be fine."

He tried to convey how much he was a different person, a better and changed person to Kurt who was still eyeing him with slight confusion but interest. "Um…"

"Blaine Anderson?" Burt interrupted the conversation. "What are you doin' here?"

"I come with Christmas dinner." Blaine offered a hand to the pale faced man. "Merry Christmas Mr. Hummel."

"This is unexpected." Burt said glancing at Kurt who shrugged. "I have some more food so I'll be right back."

Blaine left the two bags with Kurt and went out to his car for the piece de resistance, the stuffed turkey.

The Hummels, well Kurt actually, went around and set up the table and spread out the food. It was much better than the dinner Blaine had seen with the Christmas Ghost and he had a funny feeling in his stomach that intensified when he looked at Kurt and waned when he looked away.

The three of them tucked in, talking about everything they wanted and didn't have, the memories they created over the year. Many of the previous Christmases Blaine had didn't compare to the little dinner he had with the Hummels this Christmas.

"What's with that look?" Burt nudged the curly haired boy. "You're different."

"I've turned over a new leaf. My dad's coming back in a week or so and I think… it's a terrible what he's doing and I'm hoping it's not too late to help you out."

Burt blinked and Kurt choked on his sparkling cider. "What?"

Blaine shrugged. "Something happened and I want to be a better person. Like forever."

"Cool." Kurt said after several long minutes as Burt stared at the guest at his table. "Yeah. Cool, I…"

"Merry Christmas Mr. Hummel, Kurt."

"Merry Christmas Blaine." Kurt raised a plastic tumbler in a toast.

It was a good Christmas indeed.

And the following weeks after it, Burt Hummel got his shop back, was given a clean bill of health and hired Blaine on as a part time office worker to help Kurt out with the paper work.

Mr. Anderson grumpily acquiesced to his son's request and in the end, rekindled his and Mrs. Anderson's relationship with his elder son Cooper much to Blaine's relief.

But for now, the Hummel's plus one young Anderson enjoyed their Christmas Day together.

The End.


End file.
